2022 Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet Fixin Les Clos

Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet's 2022 Fixin Les Clos is a single-vineyard Pinot Noir from a 1.3-hectare parcel near Couchey, farmed sustainably and organically on limestone and marl soils. The site sits mid-slope atop six geological faults, planted between 1933 and 2005, which gives the wine a rare vertical complexity you don't often find outside premier or grand cru bottlings. Fixin, a rising appellation just north of Gevrey-Chambertin, delivers Côte de Nuits terroir without the inflated auction-house prices that have pushed Burgundy lovers to look beyond the famous villages. Amélie Berthaut returned home to Fixin in 2013 after training in Bordeaux, Bandol, and California, uniting her family's Domaine Denis Berthaut holdings with the Vosne-Romanée vineyards of her mother's Domaine François Gerbet. Her family has made wine in Fixin for seven generations, and Amélie's approach—indigenous yeast fermentations, partial whole-cluster inclusion, minimal sulfur, gentle extraction in concrete—has redefined the appellation from rustic to refined. The 2022 vintage was fermented with a portion of whole clusters, then aged twelve months in oak, twenty percent new, letting the limestone and old vines speak. The 2022 shows the fruity, elegant side of the vintage: wild strawberry and black cherry open into violet and lavender, with forest mushroom, green tea, and licorice running through silky tannins. The finish carries cigar box and a long, layered complexity that reflects both the geological faults beneath the vines and the span of vine age. Pair it with duck confit, roasted lamb, or mushroom risotto; it's a wine that rewards a few years in the cellar but drinks beautifully now with an hour of air. This bottle is available for pickup at Off Premise Chicago, 1128 W Armitage Ave in Lincoln Park, local Chicago delivery, or nationwide shipping.